Chapter 010: Hiring a Tutor for Zhenzhen!
Having dealt with Bai Ruoting, Ye Zhen breathed a sigh of relief.
She dreaded arranged marriages!
She had no intention of marrying anyone!
She'd rather spend every day cuddling with her bestie than endure even a single second of close contact with a man.
There was no changing that. Orientation was something you couldn't just switch.
"Ye Zhen, don't forget our relationship."
Ye Fuli stepped before her, reaching out to lift a strand of her long hair and toy with it.
The little runt looked terrified.
What a cowardly fool.
If you're afraid, you should think twice before acting. Who in their right mind would badmouth a villain right in front of them?
Ye Fuli disliked fools, but the thought that Ye Zhen would alert her to danger first inevitably softened her heart of steel.
"Remember, our relationship will always be one of command and obedience."
With that, she turned and walked away.
Ye Zhen snorted in defiance, then lowered her head to glance at her skirt, her pretty face flushing crimson.
Thankfully, Ye Fuli hadn't noticed. Otherwise, she would have died of embarrassment.
Taking advantage of the empty space, she quickly slipped into the changing room, grabbed a new dress, and struggled to put it on.
She fumbled around, unable to find her phone, and only then realized it was still with Bai Ruoting's bodyguard!
What was she to do?
Right now, Bai Ruoting's room was surely swarming with people. Going back to retrieve her phone seemed impossible.
"Ah, forget it. I'll just ask the Ye family parents to buy me a new one."
…
…
Late at night.
Ye Fuli walked alone through the streets, clutching Ye Zhen's phone in her hand.
In her previous life, she had once tried to unlock Ye Zhen's phone and succeeded with ease.
But this time, as she tried to unlock Ye Zhen's phone, none of the passwords she tried worked.
Knowing Ye Zhen, her passcode would be either her birthday, her QQ number, or something like "5201314"—a homophonic combination.
Why wasn't any of them working this time?
"How peculiar."
Ye Fuli's eyes darkened.
"She really seems like a different person. Could she have reincarnated too?"
The thought flashed through Ye Fuli's mind and lingered.
But she quickly dismissed it.
As the saying goes, "Old habits die hard." No matter how many times one reincarnates, certain small habits remain unchanged—like preferred passwords, favorite foods…
But the current Ye Zhen had changed too drastically.
It was almost as if she'd been possessed by some evil spirit.
"Of course, it could also be that after I threatened and intimidated her, she chose to put on a complete facade! In any case, I can't trust a single word or action from her. I mustn't let her deceive me."
Ye Fuli tucked her phone away.
By now, she was almost at her front door.
Looking up, she saw the upstairs lights were on and the door was open—proof that those two scumbags had returned.
If this were the Ye Fuli of her past life, witnessing this scene might have terrified her into not daring to go upstairs.
But this time around, a faint smile played at the corners of her lips.
These two scumbags loved nothing more than money. With it, they'd dare to do anything.
Ye Fuli resolved to exploit these scumbags to the fullest, ensuring her parents would one day taste the same bitter headache.
She ascended the stairs at a leisurely pace.
Before she even entered the door, the sound of an argument reached her ears.
"Ye Juan, you worthless piece of trash! Look at this!"
"The blood type report!"
"Look closely! We're both Type O. Why is Ye Fuli Type A?"
The clatter of shattering bowls only deepened the smile on Ye Fuli's lips.
Ye Juan's voice was louder than the man's.
"Heh, I conceived her with a wild man. Satisfied now?"
"Only today do I learn you've been raising someone else's daughter?"
"Chu Yong, get the hell out of here! You're better off dead outside!"
Of course, these were words spoken in anger.
Though Chu Yong had had a few drinks, his mind remained clear.
He knew exactly where he stood with Ye Juan. No matter whose genes were involved, they could never have produced a daughter as exceptional as Ye Fuli.
Besides, Ye Juan was his first love too. Back then, they were practically glued together day and night. It wasn't until after the baby was born that Ye Juan started working outside the home!
So there was no way he'd been cheated on.
"Could it be a mix-up?" Chu Yong suddenly sobered up. "I remember that day at the hospital—there was a power outage, and you gave birth on the same day as the woman in the next bed…"
Ye Juan rolled her eyes and fell silent.
Chu Yong, however, grew more animated: "I remember that woman had a driver, maids, even a dozen bodyguards! If it weren't for the landslide washing out the road, she'd never have gone to that small hospital to give birth, right?"
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
Ye Juan was growing distinctly impatient.
The two exchanged glances.
Chu Yong, who'd spent his entire life's worth of intelligence in this moment, declared: "We must have been switched at birth! In the pitch dark, it's perfectly normal to get babies mixed up! We need to find that woman and see her daughter."
Before he could finish, Ye Fuli pushed open the door.
Ye Fuli walked in calmly, smiling as she looked at her scummy adoptive parents.
"What are you two chatting about, Mom and Dad? Sounds like quite the lively discussion."
Seeing her daughter return, Ye Juan's anger flared: "You good-for-nothing! Didn't I tell you to come home after school to do laundry and cook? Stop wandering around outside! Are you trying to starve your parents to death?"
Ye Fuli shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry. I'll make dinner."
Then, pretending it was accidental, she reached into her pocket and deliberately let a few crisp hundred-yuan bills fall out.
The sight of money instantly lit up their eyes.
Ye Fuli watched them scramble like dogs sniffing out a scent, diving to pick up the bills. She couldn't help but burst out laughing.
Once, she had relished the warmth and praise her parents showered her with when she brought money home. But now, it all seemed laughable.
Why had her past self gone to such lengths to please them?
Look at these scumbags—what ugly, greedy faces they have!
"Good girl, did you get another bonus?"
"Sit down and rest! No need to cook—let's go out to eat!"
Ye Fuli was gently pushed into a seat by their hands on her shoulders.
Resting her chin in her hand, she gazed at them lazily. "Want more money?"
"Of course!"
"We dream of it, dear daughter."
She raised an eyebrow, pulled a few more bills from her pocket, and waved them in front of them.
As Ye Juan reached out to grab them, Ye Fuli seized her wrist and slammed it hard onto the table.
Ye Juan yelped in pain.
Beside them, the drunken and unsteady Chu Yong grabbed a wine bottle, ready to smash it, but Ye Fuli acted first, kicking him down.
A high-heeled kick hurt like hell!
Especially since Ye Fuli was trained in martial arts. She knew exactly where to strike to inflict maximum pain without causing serious injury.
Ye Fuli calmly surveyed the couple. "If you want the money, you'd better be more cooperative. Not a single word about the secret of my origins is to be revealed to anyone, or else…"
Her threats were never just empty words.
A sharp crack echoed as she snapped Ye Juan's mahjong-worn hand clean off at the wrist.
"Understand?"
That ruthless display sent the two cowardly scum straight to their knees.
"Understood! We understand everything!"
Ye Fuli nodded with satisfaction, then feigned innocence as she took Ye Juan's hand and slipped several bills inside. "Mom, go buy some bruise ointment. Make sure it's the good stuff."
Ye Juan: "…"
A demon—this was absolutely a demon!
Neither she nor Chu Yong could possibly have spawned such a demon!
Yet she dared not disobey the devil's orders, terrified the little monster might twist both her arms behind her back.
"Got it?"
"Got it, got it, got it!"
……
……
At the Ye residence.
Ye Zhen sat with her chin resting on her hands, facing her parents as they took turns lecturing her.
"In short, you are forbidden from seeing Bai Ruoting again!"
Mrs. Ye snorted coldly.
"Starting tomorrow, you're grounded for a week. You need to cool your head."
The Ye Zhen she knew was a hopeless romantic through and through.
No matter how much Ye Zhen claimed to be disillusioned with Bai Ruoting, no matter how firmly she vowed to sever all ties, her mother wouldn't believe a word of it!
Grounding her was the only solution.
Only by not seeing each other for a while would her heart truly cool down.
Ye Zhen sighed inwardly, thinking, I'm so damn innocent…
The original owner was the love-struck fool, yet she was the one left to take the fall!
Ye Dad cleared his throat and said, "Why not just take an extended leave? Return to school right before exams. That's the safest bet."
Mrs. Ye glanced at him. "But then we'd need to find a suitable tutor. Rushing into it and hiring someone incompetent—what good would that do?"
At that moment, Ye Dad discreetly showed Ye Mom a file.
As she scanned the list of awards and test scores, she guessed who the file belonged to.
Mrs. Ye snorted.
"You mean Ye Fuli—the very student who lured our Zhenzhen away and taught her to stay out all night? I'd never agree to let someone like that into our home!"